Attachable headrest with eye cover

ABSTRACT

Various apparatuses are disclosed. An apparatus may include a headrest configured to accommodate a head of a user, and an eye cover connected to the headrest and configured to cover eyes of the user. The apparatus may also include headrest straps connected to the headrest and configured to adjustably fasten the headrest to a seat. The headrest straps may adjustably fasten the headrest to the seat by wrapping around the seat. The headrest may include a wedged portion that contacts a shoulder of the user. The headrest may include an indentation shaped substantially similar to at least a portion of the head of the user. The head of the user may be substantially immobilized when the headrest is fastened to a seat and the eye cover is fastened over eyes of the user.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates, generally, to an apparatus and, morespecifically, to an attachable headrest with an eye cover.

2. Background

A headrest may provide a user with neck and head support during times ofrest. In some circumstances, the headrest may be used while the user issitting upright. For example, the user may be sitting on a seat whiletraveling (e.g., on a seat while traveling in an airplane or bus). Ifthe user falls asleep while sitting upright, the user's head may deviatefrom the headrest. For example, the user's head may move to the left,right, or forward such that their head is no longer supported by theheadrest. Further, as the user's head moves, left, right, or forward,the headrest may also move because the headrest is no longer secured inplace by the weight or force from the user's head. Accordingly, certainproblems may exist in existing designs of headrests.

An eye cover may block substantial amounts of light while the user isresting. However, existing eye covers may not help to prevent movementof the user's head during times of rest. Accordingly, the problemsdescribed supra with respect to movement of the user's head during timesof rest may not be overcome by existing eye covers. Therefore, a needexists for an attachable headrest with eye cover that reduces movementof the user's head during times of rest.

SUMMARY

One aspect of an apparatus is disclosed. An apparatus may include aheadrest configured to accommodate a head of a user and attach to aseat, and an eye cover connected to the headrest and configured to covereyes of the user, wherein the headrest and eye cover are collectivelyconfigured to limit movement of the head of the user.

Another aspect of an apparatus is disclosed. An apparatus may includemeans for accommodating a head of a user and attaching to a seat, andmeans for covering eyes of the user, wherein the means for covering eyesis connected to the means for accommodating, wherein the means foraccommodating and means for covering eyes are collectively configured torestrain movement of the head of the user.

It is understood that other aspects of apparatuses will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, wherein various aspects of apparatuses are shown anddescribed by way of illustration. As will be realized, these aspects maybe implemented in other and different forms and its several details arecapable of modification in various other respects. Accordingly, thedrawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative innature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of apparatuses will now be presented in the detaileddescription by way of example, and not by way of limitation, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a side perspective view of an exampleof an attachable headrest with eye cover.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a front perspective view of the exampleattachable headrest with eye cover.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a rear perspective view of the exampleattachable headrest with eye cover.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a side perspective view of an exampleapplication of the example attachable headrest with eye cover.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a rear perspective view of anotherexample of an attachable headrest with eye cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure will be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosuremay, however, be embodied in many different forms by those skilled inthe art and should not be construed as limited to any specific structureor function presented herein. Rather, these aspects are provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on theteachings herein, one skilled in the art should appreciate that thescope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of thisdisclosure, whether implemented independently of or combined with anyother aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intendedto cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using otherstructure and/or functionality in addition to or instead of otheraspects of this disclosure. It should be understood that any aspect ofthe disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elementsof a claim.

Although particular aspects will be described herein, many variationsand permutations of these aspects fall within the scope of thedisclosure. Although some benefits and advantages of the preferredaspects are mentioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to belimited to particular benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects ofthe disclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to differentcircuits, technologies, systems, networks, and methods, some of whichare illustrated by way of example in the drawings and in the followingdescription. The detailed description and drawings are merelyillustrative of the disclosure rather than limiting, the scope of thedisclosure being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a side perspective view of an exampleof an attachable headrest 112 with eye cover 102. The headrest 112 maybe formed from a material that is sufficiently rigid to form the shapeof the headrest 112 but sufficiently soft and malleable to providecomfort to the user. For example, the material forming the headrest 112may be foam, memory foam, cotton, fabric, polyfil, pellets, microbeads,beanbag filler, feathers, polyester, plastic, wool, rubber, buckwheat,seeds, herbs, any combination of any one or more of the foregoing,and/or any other material suitable for forming the headrest 112. If theheadrest 112 is an inflatable headrest, the material forming at least aportion of the headrest 112 may be air.

The headrest 112 may have a top portion 114, a bottom portion 118, sideportions 116, and a front portion 120. The front portion 120 of theheadrest 112 may be configured to accommodate a head of a user. Forexample, an indentation 122 in the front portion 120 of the headrest 112may be shaped substantially similar to at least a portion of the head ofthe user. Accordingly, the head of the user may fit comfortably withinthe indentation 122.

In some embodiments, the edge(s) of the indentation 122 may form theshape of a “U”. In such embodiments, the indentation 122 may have threeregions. A first region of the indentation 122 is the portion of theindentation 122 that is closest to the bottom portion of the U-shapededge. The first region of the indentation 122 may be configured tocontact and/or conform to a bottom portion of the back of the user'shead. A second region of the indentation 122 is the portion of theindentation 122 that is closest to the right-side portion of theU-shaped edge. A third region of the indentation 122 is the portion ofthe indentation 122 that is closest to the left-side portion of theU-shaped edge. The second and third regions of the indentation 122 maybe configured to contact and/or conform to the side portions of the backof the user's head.

In some embodiments, the depth throughout the indentation 122 may beuniform. In some other embodiments, the depth throughout the indentation122 may be non-uniform. Because the shape of the back of the user's headis round (e.g., has a curve/curvature), non-uniformity with respect tothe depth of different regions of the indentation may increase thesurface area in contact with (and therefore providing comfort to) thehead of the user. In the embodiments where the depth throughout theindentation 122 is non-uniform, the depth of the first region of theindentation 122 (e.g., the region of the indentation 122 that is closestto the bottom portion of the U-shaped edge) may be less than the depthof the second region and/or third region of the indentation 122 (e.g.,the region(s) of the indentation 122 that is/are closest to the rightside and/or left side of the U-shaped edge).

The bottom portion 118 of the headrest 112 may be wedge-shaped. Thewedged-shaped bottom portion 118 may contact the shoulder(s) of theuser. More specifically, the wedge-shaped bottom portion 118 may fit inthe space between the back of the user's shoulder(s) and a seat againstwhich the user may be leaning. In some embodiments, the wedge-shapedbottom portion 118 has no curves. For example, the bottom portion hasonly straight edges. In some other embodiments, the bottom portion 118has one or more curvatures. As such, the edges of the bottom portion 118have one or more curves. For example, a first portion of the edges ofthe bottom portion 118 may form a convex curve, and a second portion ofthe edges of the bottom portion 118 may form a concave curve. The firstand second portions of the edges of the bottom portion 118 may beconnected together or may be separated by a non-curved portion.

The headrest 112 may be configured to attach to the seat. In an aspect,the headrest 112 provides a means for accommodating the head of the userand attaching to the seat (e.g., the means for accommodating andattaching). The headrest straps 124′/124″ may be connected to theheadrest 112 and configured to adjustably fasten the headrest 112 to theseat. In an aspect, the headrest straps 124′/124″ may provide a meansfor adjustably fastening the means for accommodating and attaching tothe seat. The connection(s) between the headrest straps 124′/124″ andthe headrest 112 may be adjustable along any side portion 116 of theheadrest 112. The headrest straps 124′/124″ may include a first portion124′ and a second portion 124″ that are detachably connected togetherusing a buckle 126. The headrest straps 124′/124″ may adjustably fastenthe headrest 112 to the seat by wrapping around the seat.

The headrest 112 may be connected to an eye cover 102. The eye cover 102may be configured to cover the eyes of the user to block at least somelight from the eyes of the user. In an aspect, the eye cover 102 mayprovide a means for covering the eyes of the user. The headrest 112 andthe eye cover 102 may be connected by eye cover straps 108. The eyecover straps 108 may be configured to adjustably fasten the eye cover102 to the eyes of the user. The connection(s) 110 between the eye coverstraps 108 and the headrest 112 may be adjustable along any side portion116 of the headrest 112. For example, the connection(s) 110 between theeye cover straps 108 and the headrest 112 may be at a lower region ofthe side portion 116 of the headrest as is shown in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1.

The eye cover 102 may have a perimeter region 106 and a central region104. The material forming the perimeter region 106 may be different fromthe material forming the central region 104. For example, the materialforming the central region 104 may have a higher density, therebyproviding improved light-blocking, relative to the material forming theperimeter region 106. As another example, the material forming theperimeter region 106 may have some elastic properties, thereby creatinga tight seal between the user's face and the eye cover 102 to provideimproved light-blocking, relative to the material forming the centralregion 104.

The various aspects described herein may have various dimensions. Insome embodiments, the vertical height of the headrest 112 (e.g. thedistance from the top of the top portion 114 of the headrest 112 to thebottom of the wedge-shaped bottom portion 118 of the headrest 112) isapproximately 30 inches. In some configurations, the maximum horizontaldepth (e.g., the distance from the front portion 120 of the headrest 112to the back portion of the headrest) is approximately 3 inches. However,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various aspects ofthe present disclosure may have alternative dimensions without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a front perspective view of the exampleattachable headrest 112 with eye cover 102. As described supra, the eyecover 102 is connected to the headrest 112. The connection(s) 110between the eye cover straps 108 and the headrest 112 may be adjustable.For example, the connection(s) 110 may be adjusted such that theconnection(s) 110 exist at any part of the side of the headrest 112. Forexample, the connection(s) 110 between the eye cover straps 108 and theheadrest 112 may be located above and/or below the location where theconnection(s) 110 is/are illustrated in FIG. 2. The wedged-shaped bottomportion 118 may contact the shoulder(s) of the user such that thewedge-shaped portion fits in the space between the back of the user'sshoulder(s) and a seat against which the user may be leaning.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a rear perspective view of the exampleattachable headrest 112 with eye cover 102. As described supra, theheadrest straps 124′/124″ may be connected to the headrest 112 andconfigured to adjustably fasten the headrest 112 to the seat. Theconnection(s) between the headrest straps 124′/124″ and the headrest 112may be adjustable along any side portion 116 of the headrest 112. Theheadrest straps 124′/124″ may include a first portion 124′ and a secondportion 124″ that are detachably connected together using a buckle 126.The headrest straps 124′/124″ may adjustably fasten the headrest 112 tothe seat by wrapping around the seat.

The headrest 112 may have a cover that may be removed using an openingin the rear portion of the headrest 112. For example, the top portion302′ of the rear material of the headrest 112 may detachably connect tothe bottom portion 302″ of the rear material of the headrest 112. Theconnection 304 between the top portion 302′ and the bottom portion 302″may be a zipper, buttons, or simply a crease. The cover may be removedfor washing and subsequently placed back on the headrest 112.Alternatively, the cover may be replaced or interchanged with othercovers for style or color preferences. For example, different covers mayhave different colors or styles, and an individual may wish to replacethe cover of the headrest 112 to suit their style preferences.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a side perspective view of an exampleapplication of the example attachable headrest 112 with eye cover 102.The headrest straps 124 wrap around the seat 404 to hold the headrest112 in a fixed position. The user is sitting upright in the seat 404.The head 402 of the user is resting against the headrest 112. Theheadrest 112 is positioned between the head 402 of the user and the seat404. The shoulder of the user is contacting the wedge-shaped bottomportion of the headrest 112. The eyes of the user are covered by the eyecover 102. The eye cover straps 108 connect the eye cover 102 to theheadrest 112. In addition, the eye cover straps 108 can be tightenedsuch that the head 402 of the user is comfortably braced to the headrest112, and the headrest 112 is attached to the seat 404 by the headreststraps 124. Accordingly, the headrest 112 and eye cover 102 may beconfigured to limit movement of the head 402 of the user. Morespecifically, the movement of the head 402 of the user is limited whenthe headrest 112 is fastened to the seat 404 and the eye cover 102 isfastened over eyes of the user.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a rear perspective view of anotherexample of an attachable headrest 112 with eye cover 102. Because someportions of this example of the attachable headrest 112 with eye cover102 are similar to the example described supra with respect to FIGS.1-4, such portions will not be repeated infra. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 5, rather than using headrest straps 124 (see FIG.4), the headrest 112 may be attached to the seat using arms 502 that areconfigured to secure to a top portion of the seat. In an aspect, thearms 502 may provide a means for latching the means for accommodatingand attaching to the top portion of the seat. The distance 504 betweenthe rear portion of the headrest 112 and the arms 502 may correspond tothe depth of the seat to which the headrest 112 may be attached. In someconfigurations, the arms 502 may be configured to be adjustable suchthat the distance 504 between the arms 502 and the rear portion of theheadrest 112 accommodates different seats. In an aspect, the means forlatching is adjustable to accommodate seats of different dimensions.

The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled inthe art to fully understand the scope of the invention. Modifications tovarious aspects disclosed herein will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the claims will not belimited to the various exemplary embodiments provided herein.

Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless specifically stated as such; instead, reference to anelement in the singular shall mean “one or more.” Unless specificallystated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A claim thatrecites at least one of a combination of elements (e.g., “at least oneof A, B, and C”) refers to one or more of the recited elements (e.g., A,or B, or C, or any combination thereof).

No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C.§112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using thephrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element isrecited using the phrase “step for.”

Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspectsof this disclosure, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims. All structural and functionalequivalents to the various components of the exemplary embodimentsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a headrest configuredto accommodate a head of a user and attach to a seat; and an eye coverconnected to the headrest and configured to cover eyes of the user,wherein the headrest and eye cover are collectively configured to limitmovement of the head of the user.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: headrest straps connected to the headrest and configured toadjustably fasten the headrest to the seat.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the headrest straps adjustably fastens the headrest to the seatby wrapping around the seat.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinconnections between the headrest straps and the headrest are adjustablealong any side region of the headrest.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the headrest straps comprise a first portion and a secondportion that are detachably connected together using a buckle.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the headrest and the eye cover areconnected by eye cover straps configured to adjustably fasten the eyecover to the eyes of a user.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, whereinconnections between the eye cover straps and the headrest are adjustablealong any side region of the headrest.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the headrest comprises a wedged portion that contacts a shoulderof the user.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the headrest comprisesan indentation shaped substantially similar to at least a portion of thehead of the user.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: oneor more arms configured to attach the headrest to a top portion of theseat, wherein the arms are adjustable to accommodate seats of differentdimensions.
 11. An apparatus, comprising: means for accommodating a headof a user and attaching to a seat; and means for covering eyes of theuser, wherein the means for covering eyes is connected to the means foraccommodating and attaching, wherein the means for accommodating andattaching and the means for covering eyes are collectively configured torestrain movement of the head of the user.
 12. The apparatus of claim11, further comprising: means for adjustably fastening the means foraccommodating and attaching to the seat.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the means for adjustably fastening are configured to wrap aroundthe seat.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein connections between themeans for adjustably fastening and the means for accommodating andattaching are adjustable along any side region of the means foraccommodating and attaching.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein themeans for adjustably fastening comprise a first portion and a secondportion that are detachably connected together using a buckle.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for covering eyes and the meansfor accommodating and attaching are connected by eye cover strapsconfigured to adjustably fasten the means for covering eyes to eyes ofthe user.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein connections between theeye cover straps and the means for accommodating and attaching areadjustable along any side region of the means for accommodating andattaching.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means foraccommodating and attaching comprises a wedged portion configured tocontact a shoulder of the user.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe means for accommodating and attaching comprises an indentationshaped substantially similar to at least a portion of the head of theuser.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: means forlatching the means for accommodating and attaching to a top portion ofthe seat, wherein the means for latching is adjustable to accommodateseats of different dimensions.